


First Contact

by Star_Going_Supernova



Series: teeny tiny murder machines [3]
Category: Godzilla: King of The Monsters (2019)
Genre: First Meetings, Fluff, Gen, Huddling For Warmth, Injury, Monster-Human Friendship, Storms, i will literally die on the hill that the titans are very intelligent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:08:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23776612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star_Going_Supernova/pseuds/Star_Going_Supernova
Summary: When Maddie's dad told her to try making friends outside of Monarch, this probably wasn't what he meant. Definitely, absolutely, wasn't what he meant.
Relationships: Ling Chen & Madison Russell, Rodan (Kaiju) & Madison Russell
Series: teeny tiny murder machines [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1601329
Comments: 20
Kudos: 103





	First Contact

**Author's Note:**

> In science fiction, the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life (in this case, a Titan) is often referred to as “first contact.” Not exactly the most creative term, but hey, it gets the point across. 
> 
> Theoretically, this is where any first meeting stories between Maddie and various mini-Titans will go (except for Godzilla and Kevin, obviously), each in their own chapter or two. We’ll see. The idea for this story was suggested by an anon on tumblr! Hope you enjoy this one!

It was only after much pleading and bargaining with her dad that Maddie was allowed to go on one of the trips to Rodan’s new nesting area. Her recent experiences with the few mini-Titans she’d encountered had helped convince him. Being friendly with four out of four did wonders in her argument that _obviously_ something made them see her differently from other humans.

While none of the Titans, big or small, actively threatened people, they didn’t hesitate to retaliate or defend themselves. Godzilla’s little rampage through Castle Bravo a few months ago was example enough.

Not with Maddie, though. Whether she was just lucky enough to never push their buttons, or they had more patience with her, or for some other reason entirely, not a single one had ever deliberately snapped at her.

And now she’d managed to convince her dad that this would hold true with Rodan. Despite his fear and wariness—which was valid, considering his first and only encounter with Rodan involved almost dying—Maddie was standing only a few miles away from the volcano housing the Fire Demon.

Monarch was in the process of building a new outpost in the area, ostensibly to keep an eye on Rodan, but more because they wanted to keep people away from him. He, like a number of the other Titans who’d been awakened by Ghidorah over two years ago, had wandered around a bit before settling down, inevitably not far from some city or another.

Trying to keep moronic tourists from annoying Rodan into eating them or something had been Monarch’s main priority when he first chose this volcano as home. The new outpost was nearly completed now, as were their extensive security measures.

No one had fallen into the volcano or been stepped on—despite some people’s apparent attempts at otherwise—so Monarch counted the whole thing as a win.

Maddie stood on the highest level of the outpost’s series of viewing platforms and stared over the tops of the trees to the volcano. The area was vast, and during previous explorations taken both on foot and by drone, they’d found a lot of trees near the base had been knocked down.

It was an indicator all on its own of Rodan’s activity. He didn’t sleep for long periods of time anymore. The jungle environment bore all sorts of signs of his presence.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Dr. Ling asked as she joined Maddie at the railing. She’d offered to accompany Maddie with the rest of the group heading out here, which had proved to be the final bit of reassurance Mark had needed.

Maddie nodded. “It kinda reminds me of Outpost 61.”

“Mm,” she hummed, closing her eyes for a moment. “I agree. Though I envy the temple’s isolation.”

Remembering some of the stories they’d been told by full-time residences over breakfast of their most memorable encounters with thrill seekers, Maddie laughed and said, “Being so far away from people certain has its upsides, that’s for sure. Do you know if we’re heading out soon?”

“Within the hour. They’re doing a final weather check to make sure our journey won’t be interrupted by poor conditions.”

They both looked up. The sky was blue and cloudless, the sun shining warmly down on them.

Dr. Ling laughed lightly and added, “I understand some of the storms in this area arrive suddenly and violently.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Maddie agreed.

A faint screech echoed out of the volcano. She carefully watched the top in case the tip of a wing or something poked out. Though she’d promised her dad that she wouldn’t wander away from the group or intentionally go looking for trouble, Maddie wouldn’t object to having a close encounter with Rodan.

If she was lucky, this trip would end with her being able to call a fifth Titan a tentative friend.

• • •

Everything went wrong a few hours later. The tropical storm they expected to hit long after the sun went down showed up early. Really early. The timing couldn’t have been worse, too, because only twenty minutes or so before they recognized the signs, their team had gotten word of some thrill-seekers who had gotten past the security measures. Since they weren’t far, a small portion of their group had left to intercept the trespassers and escort them to the separate Monarch facility built solely for dealing with these sorts of idiots.

With them gone, there was Maddie, Dr. Ling, three on-site scientists, and five members of the security team. They were spread out around the terrain, each doing their own thing, for the most part.

Maddie, accompanied by one of the security team—because there was a difference between exploring and being stupid—had climbed the outermost rocky hills making up the volcano. The view was beautiful, the weather was pleasant, and there was something inherently exciting about being so close to a volcano with a Titan inside it.

At least, Maddie thought so. She was sure her dad wouldn’t have agreed with her.

Being shadowed by a guard was no hardship when she was as friendly as Sophia was. She recognized every bird call they heard and every flower they saw, better than one of the actual botanists below.

Maddie clambered up to the top of an enormous boulder and surveyed the area. She could clearly see where Rodan had indeed done some landscaping. Snapped trees and scorched patches of grass and rocks littered the base of the volcano. Turning away from the surrounding forest, she examined the volcano itself.

If it weren’t for the fact someone had told her it wasn’t a normal mountain, she never would’ve guessed. It was really wide at the base and carried upwards in a gentler slope than she might have imagined, though it was pretty steep in a few places. The rough surface was covered with cracks and crevices and what she hoped were caves.

She knew she could spend weeks exploring the area without growing bored. But she only had a few days. She must’ve made a face at the thought, because Sophia chuckled.

“There’s just so much!” Maddie complained. There really was such a problem as _too much of a good thing_.

“I know, kiddo, I know. Y’see that yellow line a little farther up? Can’t go any higher than that today, I’m afraid, but there’s a bird nest near it, hidden in a fissure. Want to see if you can find it without help?”

It sounded like a fun challenge with a potentially cute reward, and Maddie had no problem with hiking a little higher.

So, naturally, it was when their numbers were small and their group divided that the storm hit. The wind picked up first, and just as it got to be noticeably bad, the sun was suddenly obscured by dark, ominous-looking clouds. Then came the rain, in great, pounding sheets.

The rocks beneath Maddie’s feet shifted, and quite by luck, she tripped herself while trying to regain her balance. She fell on a larger, more sturdy boulder, unlike Sophia. The slick ground took the woman down hard, and a section of loose stones sent her right over the edge of the wide lip they’d been standing on.

Maddie couldn’t even see the others through the rain.

Without standing up, she carefully scooted to the drop off. It wasn’t a big one, thank goodness, but Sophia was definitely unconscious a few feet below her. Only using rocks that appeared to be firmly wedged into the dirt, instead of simply sitting all wobbly on top, she slowly climbed down.

It looked like Sophia had landed funny, and her leg was absolutely not supposed to be facing that direction. Blood had already soaked through her pant leg, too. From what Maddie could see of her face, there were at least two bleeding cuts.

Lightning crackled through the sky, shortly followed by a boom of thunder explosive enough to shake the ground. The wind whipped water into her eyes, and she pressed against the mountainside as she shielded her face.

No matter how hard she looked, Maddie couldn’t even make out the base of the volcano, much less anyone standing there. She wrestled her backpack off and fished out the radio inside.

“Dr. Ling?” she called into it over the sound of the storm. “Are you there? Can you hear me?”

She flinched as what sure sounded like a rockslide or something crashed and banged around not far from her and Sophia.

A burst of static nearly made her drop the radio. She thought there was a voice mixed in with it, but it was so faint.

“Dr. Ling? I can’t hear you!”

“—Maddie—you—storm—”

The wind picked up, flattening Maddie’s hair against her face. She turned her back to it, pressed her side against the volcano, and tucked the radio into the little pocket between her body and the elements.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, but Sophia’s hurt!”

“—hurt?—dangerous—mudslide—”

Oh. If that was a mudslide she’d heard, it was probably between the two of them and the others.

After a lot more crackling, two final words burst out of the radio, “—find—safe?” No matter how she fiddled with it after that, there was nothing else incoming.

More lighting split the sky. Maddie flinched, the combination of light and pounding rain momentarily taking her back to Fenway. She had to take a few deep breaths, biting her lip as thunder rattled her heart, before she could stand up. Fighting the wind and the faint trembling in her legs, she stumbled along the mostly-flat path.

Not too far from where Sophia had fallen was one of those caves she’d spotted earlier. Determined to get them both out of the rain before another mudslide or something similar could befall them, Maddie hurried back and contemplated the true obstacle.

How was she supposed to maneuver an unconscious, full-grown adult across a slippery volcano?

 _Definitely not by just standing here,_ she thought.

If she was really lucky, Sophia would wake up. Maddie kept an eye on her face as she carefully wrestled the woman’s bulky gear off. Extra weight had to go. Just as she was ready to try dragging her, Sophia’s face screwed up a little. Her eyes fluttered open a few moments later.

“Don’t move!” Maddie had to shout over the sounds of Mother Nature, pressing her hands against Sophia’s shoulders.

She looked confused for a second before pain flashed across her face.

Maddie explained what had happened as quickly as she could before urging Sophia up. It took long, chilly minutes, but Maddie was able to be a good enough crutch to cross the agonizing distance between them and the cave.

After settling Sophia a reasonable distance from the entrance, Maddie ran back into the storm to grab their discarded gear. Falling to her knees beside her guard upon her return, she fished a first aid kit out of one of the backpacks.

“Can you dry swallow pills?” Maddie asked, unscrewing the little travel-sized container of pain meds.

She offered a shaky smile. “Whether or not I can doesn’t matter, those things are going down one way or another.”

While she worked on gulping the maximum dosage down, Maddie wriggled out of her light coat and tossed the soaking garment aside. There should be towels or something in the backpacks…

Sophia had finished by the time she successfully located two thankfully dry towels and a blanket. They weren’t much, but the temperature was already a lot cooler than it’d been half an hour ago. The cave protected them from the rain, not the brisk breeze.

“What should we do about your leg?” Maddie asked as they went about wiping their faces, and in her case, her bare arms. She gathered the soaked fabric of her shirt and squeezed excess water out. When she looked back up, Sophia had cut away her pants at the knee and was leaning up to examine the injury. Maddie could see a bit of bone sticking out of one of the gashes.

“Think you could wrap it for me? Slow the bleeding, hopefully prevent infection. I don’t think we have anything to use as a splint.”

“Yeah. Do—do you think you could walk a little more afterwards? I think we should try and get away from the wind.” Maddie rubbed her goosebump-covered arms, already shivering.

Sophia nodded, trembling faintly herself. She carefully lifted Sophia’s foot onto her own leg so she wouldn’t have to move it around while wrapping it. While practicing some deep breathing exercises, Sophia guided Maddie on where to apply some antiseptic spray before she began bundling it up in gauze.

“Don’t worry, kid. Unless you go yanking my leg around, you can’t make it worse.”

Maddie chose to believe this whether it was true or just Sophia trying to make her feel better. She was only fourteen, and while she’d taken first aid courses before, it didn’t _really_ prepare you for having to do it like this.

After finishing with her leg, Maddie moved on to help with the other scrapes and cuts Sophia’s fall had left on her face and hands. Nothing seemed too bad, but she knew they needed to return to the base as soon as possible to make sure _not-too-bad_ didn’t become _worse._

Both of them were shaking badly by the time they were ready to move deeper into the cave. Each armed with a powerful flashlight, they painstakingly moved away from the already feebly lit entrance. There was a slight bend not _too_ far, and Maddie breathed a sigh of relief when Sophia slumped against the rough cave wall with a groan. She leaned heavily against an outcropping at her side as well, looking exhausted.

Maddie once again backtracked to retrieve their supplies. This time, as she returned to Sophia, she noticed how the ceiling and walls opened wider the further in she went.

The woman’s eyes were drooping. Maddie carefully laid the blanket over her, receiving a small smile of thanks. Sleep was probably for the best, if it meant she could escape the pain for a little while.

Taking the drier of the two small towels, Maddie vigorously rubbed it over her head to try and get her hair to stop dripping. Sophia was completely out by the time she stopped, satisfied with the result.

Maddie tested the radio again, but there was only choppy static.

The wind wasn’t nearly as bad this far back, but she was still shivering. Her coat was too wet to do any real good, so moving around was her next best option. She wished she had a change of clothes, or at least a heat source. For a moment, she considered sitting next to Sophia to share body heat, but fear of jostling her leg or falling asleep herself, leaving them both even more vulnerable, kept her on her feet.

The sound of rocks falling had Maddie snapping her head around. Her flashlight didn’t catch anything moving in the darkness. No, the noise had been farther away.

She bit her lip. If there was a creature living in here, it might be unsafe to stay. She’d feel awful for making Sophia get up again, but it’d be better than being mauled or something.

Maddie left the second flashlight beside Sophia, on and facing the ceiling. As quietly as she could, she picked her way deeper into the cave.

Periodically glancing back to make sure she hadn’t lost sight of her sleeping companion, Maddie eventually spotted a very faint light coming from a small crack in the wall. Curiosity took over. She had no trouble slipping through a short passage to emerge on a rocky lip jutting out into an absolutely _massive_ cavern.

She was so busy looking up at the stalactites covered in brightly glowing stuff—lichen? moss?—that she almost completely missed the cave’s occupant.

Sitting in the center, picking at something beneath his wing, was Rodan.

Maddie must’ve gasped or knocked stones loose when she took a little step forward or maybe her presence was enough on its own, but either way, Rodan’s head poked up and turned to face her.

Even though he wasn’t the first Titan she’d been so close to—not even the second or third or fourth—she still felt the same thrill as every other time. Part of her hoped she’d never lose the feeling, the awe and excitement, the rush of rollercoaster-adrenaline.

She raised her hand and waved. Different methods worked with different Titans. She’d roared in Godzilla’s mini face. Mothra had immediately recognized her. Methuselah had maintained his distance while Maddie had talked until her throat hurt, creeping closer when she wasn’t paying attention. Scylla had required stillness. Basically, it was best to see how the Titan reacted to her before she chose an approach.

Rodan stared for a long minute. Finally, he trilled quietly and ducked his head a little. She would’ve mistaken him for being shy if she didn’t know better. It was an odd reaction, especially given what she’d seen of him back during the almost-end-of-world.

A particularly violent shiver shook her body, and Maddie rubbed her arms again.

Slowly, without ever letting his eyes stray from her, Rodan turned and crept closer. If she had to guess, based on his deliberate movements and periodic, low trills, he was trying not to startle her. Maddie held still as he came to a stop in front of her little ledge, which was a set into the wall close to the height of Rodan’s shoulders.

He bowed his head until the front edge of his beak brushed the stone beneath Maddie’s feet. And then, like all Titans seemed to be capable of, he went unnaturally still.

She could feel the heat radiating off him, and when he didn’t move away when she took a single step forward, she leaned against the smooth surface. Every part of Rodan ran hot, and his beak was no exception. Maddie sighed in happy relief as the cold in her veins was chased out by the warmth.

Once she could think past the haze of comfort, she raised her left hand and stroked her palm up and down in thanks. A funny little gurgle built up in Rodan’s throat, but he didn’t open his mouth.

It abruptly occurred to Maddie that this felt a bit like an apology.

She shifted back, pleased when she didn’t immediately become cold again, and craned her head until she could see one of his eyes. For a while now, mostly since she’d first met Godzilla in his mini form several months ago, she’d wondered if they talked to each other outside of battle or whatever. Did they gossip? Share stories?

Most relevantly, did Godzilla somehow tell the others about her? He had to have, right?

Why else would Rodan act like this, why else would he be not only calm and gentle, but guilty and apologetic? He looked, in this moment, like any animal who knew they’d done something bad.

Pressing her forehead to his beak with a sigh, she said, “I’m not mad. I don’t blame you for what happened. You ended up in that situation because of other people, not because you wanted to be there.” Leaning away again, she smiled ruefully. “Kinda like me, actually.”

Maddie stepped away so Rodan could raise his head. He responded with a stuttering warble. Gripping her arms just above the elbows, relishing in the lingering warmth, she slowly moved back towards the crevice she’d slipped through.

“Sorry for intruding in your volcano, Rodan. I’m glad I met you, though. My friend’s hurt, so I gotta get back to her, okay?”

His head tilted, incredibly bird-like, and when no other reaction was forthcoming, Maddie turned and went back the way she’d come. There was no change in Sophia, which she figured was more of a good thing than a bad thing.

Feeling a little more awake after her short adventure, Maddie sat down against the wall on Sophia’s uninjured side and lifted the blanket to slide under. Another check of the radio proved useless. Even from deeper within the cave, the roaring storm outside was loud—worse, it didn’t sound like it was getting any better.

A little skittering sound nearby spiked Maddie’s adrenaline. She went limp for a second in relief when she found the source.

Rodan, as miniature as any of the others she’d seen, quietly crept closer. He was about the size of an eagle or a hawk, though she suspected his wingspan was longer than that of a similarly-sized bird.

He clacked his beak and nudged Maddie’s foot once he got close enough. The fiery lines on the bottom edge of his wings glowed brightly in the dark. She didn’t move other than to smile at him, and after a moment, he carefully picked his way up the space between Maddie and Sophia.

There was enough of a gap for him to settle his body on top of the blanket, a wing outstretched over each of their laps. It was better than a heating pad. If it felt good to her, when she was still relatively warm from earlier, then it must’ve felt absolutely wonderful to Sophia. If she was even aware of it, fast asleep as she was.

“Thanks, Rodan,” Maddie whispered. She dared to reach out and pet his head, scratching the base of his horns and against the rough, leathery skin of his neck. He pushed into her touch with a soft purring-trill.

It didn’t feel as risky to fall asleep when there was a Titan with you, so with one hand on the radio, Maddie let herself close her eyes and relax.

• • •

A light nip to the side of her hand woke Maddie up some time later. It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to make her eyes open. She blearily blinked down at the rusty-red shape half on her lap as the events of the previous day caught up to her.

It took her a moment to realize the cave was silent. The sounds of rain and wind were gone. No thunder rumbled through the rocks. It was just as dark, though, if not even darker.

Sophia was still resting, so Maddie carefully slid out from the blanket. Crouching there, she asked Rodan, “You mind watching her real quick? I’ll be right back.”

Rodan bobbed his head. Taking the radio in one hand and a flashlight in the other, Maddie headed for the cave entrance. It was nighttime, which meant hours had passed since their expedition that afternoon. The sky was clear, and she spared a minute to stare up at the stars.

The radio continued to not work, no matter what she tried. She couldn’t see much of the mountainside from where she was standing, but it wouldn’t surprise her if everything was just that much more precarious after a storm like that.

Maddie trudged frustratedly back to Rodan and Sophia. “No luck,” she whispered, resisting the temptation to chuck the stupid radio at the wall. She plopped down at Sophia’s feet and crossed her legs beneath her.

Chin in hand, Maddie considered her options. They could simply wait for help to come. Sooner or later, someone would show up, right? Even if Monarch didn’t know exactly where they were, all any rescue team had to do was go to where they were last seen and call out. Maddie would be able to answer.

But that could be hours away, and though Sophia _looked_ fine now, she would be in a lot of pain when she woke up, and the longer she didn’t get treatment, the more of a risk she faced.

She wondered if there were flares in the backpacks. If she set one off, would it catch someone’s attention, enough for them to send help?

Maddie didn’t feel comfortable leaving Sophia alone for long, especially since she was asleep, so that meant her leaving to find help was out of the question.

She sighed. Sitting tight was looking to be their only option. If Monarch didn't mobilize a retrieval team until daylight, then they really were looking at hours of waiting, plus however long it took them to safely reach the cave, prepare Sophia for transport, get her down the volcano, and take her to the outpost.

A rustle of fabric caught her attention. Rodan clambered off the blanket and hopped over to her. Appreciating the company, Maddie leaned forward and hugged him. He hooked the little claws along the tops of his wings into her shirt.

“I’m really worried about Sophia,” she muttered. “We need to get back to base, ’cause she’s hurt. But I think we’re gonna be stuck here the rest of the night.” She sighed again.

Rodan leaned away and tilted his head back and forth, as if he was considering her words. She released him fully and watched in bemusement as he clumsily took off and flew straight out of the cave. Weird.

Maddie had only just climbed back to her feet when a much louder, fuller screech came from outside. Unlike every other noise, this was what woke Sophia up as well.

“What was that?” she asked sleepily.

“Uh…” Maddie stepped around the bend, just enough to see full-sized Rodan peering into the cave. He screeched again, still comparatively soft for a Titan, and ducked his head a little. When she didn’t move, he repeated the sound and the motion.

“Maddie?”

“I…” A slow smile spread across her face as she turned back to Sophia. “I think we’re being offered a ride back to the base.”

• • • 

It was a challenge to get Sophia onto Rodan, less because of the pain she was in and more because she couldn’t believe the so-called Fire Demon wouldn’t eat her or something as soon as she let her guard down. It was only after Rodan made a rather exasperated sounding noise and harmlessly nipped Maddie’s shoulder that she hesitantly agreed.

Maddie just hoped that demonstration never made it back to her dad. She’d barely even felt it, but with her luck, her dad would probably imagine Rodan fitting his beak over her entire body and have a heart attack.

With Sophia grimacing over the state of her leg bandages—largely soaked through with blood, and smelling worrisome—Maddie settled in with the backpacks and called out to Rodan that they were ready.

The flight took little more than a minute or two, and only because Rodan was moving slowly for his human passengers. He bent and lowered his head beside the viewing platforms, making it easy for them to disembark.

Sophia sat down immediately, having finally exhausted her ability to keep going with such an injury, and Maddie was quick to say her thanks and a goodbye to Rodan before rushing off to find help.

He was gone by the time she returned.

• • •

“Quite the adventure,” Dr. Ling said the next afternoon, after Maddie had been checked over by the on-base medics, offered food and a hot shower, and had a nice long nap in a real bed. They were back to standing where they were before going on the expedition, on the very platform Rodan had dropped her off at about twelve hours earlier.

“Yeah.” Maddie leaned against the railing, arms crossed over each other, and watched the volcano. “I’m just happy Sophia’ll be all right.”

“Have you received any updates on her condition?”

“Saw her earlier, actually. They caught the infection before it had a chance to really do damage, and the surgery to reset her leg went well. She’ll make a full recovery.”

Dr. Ling smiled. “That’s wonderful. We were so worried when we couldn’t reach you, Maddie, and we were afraid to assume the worst had occured.”

“I’ve faced worse odds,” she said, before wincing slightly. Turning to press her back to the railing, she forced some cheer into her voice and continued, “And Rodan was a lot of help! Being cold and wet was an awful combination.”

Dr. Ling mercifully allowed the change in subject. “You must have been happy to meet him. That was one of your reasons for coming out here, was it not?”

“Pretty much,” she admitted.

“You have a wonderful capacity to make unexpected friends, Maddie. My sister has told me about the other Titans you’ve met.”

“Mm, it’s nothing special, I guess. That is, I don’t do anything special. I just got lucky. They’re awesome, though.”

Dr. Ling’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “Yes, I’m sure just anyone could effortlessly win the hearts of numerous Titans.”

“I’m not winning anyone’s hearts, Dr. Ling.”

“Mm hmm. Well, you might want to tell him that.” She nodded past Maddie.

Because there was Rodan, eagle-sized and perched on the railing only two feet away from her.

“How the hell did you manage that?” she asked incredulously. She hadn’t even heard him land, and Dr. Ling was only so distracting.

He chittered and sidled a little closer. Maddie couldn’t quite suppress her grin as she faced him and started to stroke his head. Spotting the fond look on Dr. Ling’s face, she said, “He let Sophia ride on him too, y’know. It’s not just me.”

“Would he have done so if you hadn’t been there?”

Maddie puffed her cheeks out. Okay, probably not, but that didn’t mean she did anything special. “I think it’s probably because of Godzilla,” she admitted. “I don’t know if Titan’s gossip or whatever, but I bet if he told them not to eat me, they wouldn’t.”

“A reasonable explanation,” Dr. Ling allowed.

“But you don’t believe it.”

“I doubt we’ll ever be able to fully understand Titans, Maddie. I doubt we’ll ever truly come close. Whether Godzilla has given you his seal of approval, so to speak, I can’t say for sure. Whether your first encounter with him directly resulted in every subsequent encounter you have with different Titans, we’ll likely never know.” She turned to head to the stairs leading down. “But I have studied Titans and their history for much of my life. The future we’re facing will be just as new to them as it is to us. We share this world, Maddie, and I can’t imagine that changing. This world is very different from the one they were a part of before they went to sleep. Is it so inconceivable for them to take comfort in something that has not changed?”

“Which is?”

“A human who does not first reach for a weapon or scream at the sight of them.”

“But they used to be worshipped. I don’t do that.”

“No. Even better—you love them.”

Dr. Ling started down the stairs with one last parting smile, leaving Maddie with a Titan half in her arms, veritably purring his content.

**Author's Note:**

> So that’s how Maddie met Rodan! It was getting much longer than I intended, so I thought this was a good place to end it. Just know that Mark will look at Maddie, with Rodan standing at her feet, and sigh loudly and with great put-upon-ness. And then there’s one more Titan who comes and goes at random, which is extra fun, because they don’t have the beach house yet.
> 
> Any other first meeting anyone wants to see, of those who Maddie’s already met in the main storyline? 
> 
> [here’s my tumblr](https://star-going-supernova.tumblr.com), love y’all, hope you’re doing well


End file.
